Systems and methods for searchable time-based offers

ABSTRACT

A multiple criteria buying and selling system and method is provided. A seller initially establishes a deal structure for a product, which provides seller defined selling criteria information relating to the purchasing of the product, such as volume per unit price, quality, delivery time and warranty information. A buyer will be able to review a list of deals if the seller&#39;s selling criteria matches a buyer defined buying criteria. The deal structure is preferably set up so as to provide buyers with both price and non-price criteria information that the buyer&#39;s would consider important in a purchase of the type of product being offered by the seller. The deal structure is electronically made available to potential buyers of the product. For example, the deal structure may be displayed on an Internet site.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/681,403 filed Nov. 19, 2012, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,738,462, which is a continuation and claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/271,464 filed Oct. 12,2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,341,035, which is a continuation and claimsthe benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/887,778 filed Sep.22, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,196,811, which is a continuation andclaims the priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/426,063 filed Oct. 22, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,212, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an e-commerce multiple criteria buyingand selling methodology and more particularly to a method and apparatusof using the e-commerce multiple criteria buying and selling methodologyto conduct business electronically.

2. Description of the Related Art

The buying and selling of products and services has resulted in a vastarray of buying schemes which are used to vary the price at which suchproducts are sold.

One of the most common buying schemes which business encounter everydayis known as volume buying. According to this buying scheme, sellers seta fixed unit price for their products based on the volume of units thata buyer is willing to purchase. Buyers desiring to purchase productsfrom the seller are each required to pay the same fixed price dependingon the volume of units the buyer is purchasing. If a seller finds thatthe demand for a given product is greater or less than expected, theseller may later adjust the fixed price per unit of the product toaccount for such findings. Although the fixed price per unit systemprovides a simple way for a seller to conduct business with multiplebuyers, one drawback of this buying scheme is that it fails to providebuyers with a choice between a variety of different buying criteria thatmay be just as important or more important to the buyer than price.

For example, a buyer that is in need of goods, such as raw materials tomake products for an expedited order may be willing to pay a higherprice for a faster delivery time. Another buyer may be concerned withthe quality of the goods they are purchasing, such that the buyer wouldpay a higher price for goods having a minimum number of defects. Yetanother buyer may be concerned with the warranty time allotted for thegoods they are purchasing, and may want the warranty of the goods thatthey are purchasing to match or exceed the warranty the buyers areoffering their own customers.

Yet another buying scheme that has been advanced in recent years isbuyer-driven bidding. According to this buying scheme, a single buyerdesiring to obtain a product communicates a price at which the buyer iswilling to purchase the product to multiple sellers. Each of the sellersis provided an opportunity to review the buyer's price. A sale iscomplete when one of the sellers agrees to sell the product to the buyerat the price suggested by the buyer. A buyer-driven bidding scheme isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,207 assigned to Walker Asset ManagementLimited Partnership of Stamford, Conn. Another buyer-driven biddingscheme is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,620 assigned to priceline.comInc. of Stamford, Conn. While the buyer-driven bidding scheme providesadvantages for certain types of transactions when, for example, sellersmay be willing to sell products at lower than normal prices, theuncertainties involved with whether a buyer's offer will be accepted isoften problematic for high volume commercial transactions in which thereliability that a transaction will be complete is of paramountimportance. Another problem with the present buying schemes is that thebuyers have no control in determining the criteria of the product orservices that they may receive, while the seller has no control of thetype of purchase that the buyers request.

While the buying schemes described above have various advantages anddisadvantages in different situations, a commonality among all of thebuying schemes is that each buyer is not given the opportunity to chooseamongst different buying criteria, which could be more important to thebuyer than the price of the goods and/or services. Furthermore, eachseller is not given a chance to offer their goods and/or services basedon different selling criteria. In many instances sellers are not evenaware of what buyers consider important buying criteria. Additionally,sellers are sometimes not aware of what other selling criteria thatother sellers might offer buyers.

Accordingly, there is a strong need in the art for a multiple criteriabuying and selling scheme that provides both buyers and sellers morecontrol in a commercial purchasing transaction, and overcomes the abovementioned drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE CLAIMED INVENTION

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a multiplecriteria buying and selling methodology is provided. The multiplecriteria buying and selling methodology is structured to provide buyersand sellers with a variety of information relating to criteria in thepurchasing of products to complete a business transaction. By providingthe buyers and sellers with a variety of information, the buyers areable to make informed decisions in the buying process relating to eachbuyers' particular needs, and the sellers are able to control the typeof purchases for their goods and services. To facilitate buying andselling products using the multiple criteria buying and sellingmethodology, an electronic forum is provided whereby buyers and sellersare able to conveniently exchange information and order products.

In the multiple criteria buying and selling methodology, a sellerinitially establishes a deal structure for a product, which providesselling criteria information relating to the purchasing of the product,such as volume per unit price, quality, delivery time and warrantyinformation that a buyer will be able to review if the selling criteriamatches a buyer inputted buying criteria. The deal structure ispreferably set up so as to provide buyers with both price and non-pricecriteria information that the buyer's would consider important in apurchase of the type of product being offered by the seller. The dealstructure is electronically made available to potential buyers of theproduct. For example, the deal structure may be displayed on an Internetsite.

Accordingly, the multiple criteria buying and selling methodologyprovides more control for both buyers and sellers in the purchasingprocess. Buyers define the buying criteria they feel is important inpurchasing a particular good or service. Sellers define the sellingcriteria they feel is important to both the buyer and the seller. Thebuyer is provided with a list of deals in which the buyer's buyingcriteria falls within the seller's selling criteria. Furthermore, themultiple criteria buying and selling methodology encourages thecompletion of deals. The multiple criteria buying and sellingmethodology allows a buyer to complete a deal in an expedited manner.The buyer can control the buying criteria and the seller can control theselling criteria, allowing a more efficient manner of conductingbusiness.

Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, a businesstransaction methodology is provided. The methodology includes the stepsof offering a plurality of deals for at least one of a product andservice offered by at least one seller inputting a plurality of buyingcriteria by a buyer for the at least one of a product and service, andoutputting a list of deals from amongst the plurality of deals thatmatch the buying criteria of the buyer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention an Internetbusiness transaction system is provided. The Internet businesstransaction system, includes a computer adapted to be employed by afacilitator for hosting a commercial transaction over the Internet, thecomputer providing access to at least one buyer and at least one sellerto carry out the commercial transaction, wherein at least one buyermakes a purchase from the at least one seller when a plurality of buyingcriteria defined by the buyer matches a plurality of selling criteriadefined by the seller.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a methodof conducting a business transaction is provided. The method includesthe steps of electronically offering a plurality of deals on at leastone of a product and service for sale, each of said plurality of dealsbeing based on different offering criteria than each other of saidplurality of deals, electronically searching the deals on the productfor sale based on a plurality of ordering criteria, outputting a list ofdeals of the plurality of deals which offering criteria matches theordering criteria and selecting one of the deals of the list of dealswhich offering criteria matches the ordering criteria.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, anelectronic signal is provided that is adapted to be transmitted betweenat least two computers. The electronic signal includes an algorithm formatching a buyer with at least one deal offered by at least one seller,the algorithm matches the buyer with the at least one deal based on aplurality of buying criteria defined by the buyer which matches aplurality of selling criteria defined by the at least one seller.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention anInternet business transaction system is provided. The internet businesstransaction system includes means for hosting a commercial transactionover the Internet, the means for hosting provides access to at least onebuyer and at least one seller to carry out the commercial transaction,wherein the at least one buyer makes a purchase from the at least oneseller when a plurality of ordering criteria, fall within the outerlimits of a plurality of offering criteria, each ordering criteria beingbased on a buyer defined buying criteria, and each offering criteriabeing defined by the seller.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention anInternet business transaction system is provided. The Internet businesstransaction system includes a first computer adapted to be employed by afacilitator for hosting a commercial transaction over the Internet, asecond computer adapted to be used by a buyer to link to the firstcomputer to participate in the commercial transaction, a third computeradapted to be used by a seller to link to the first computer toparticipate in the commercial transaction, wherein the buyer makes apurchase from the seller when a plurality of buyer defined buyingcriteria matches a plurality of seller defined selling criteria.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention a serveris provided. The server includes a processor, a memory coupled to theprocessor, and a network interface coupled to the processor fortransmitting and receiving data with at least one remote computersystem, wherein a plurality of deals for a product offered for saleelectronically is stored in the memory, each of the plurality of dealshaving different seller defined selling criteria, and wherein the serveris configured to receive orders for the product from a plurality ofdifferent buyers via the at least one remote computer system, byproviding the plurality of different buyers with at least one deal ofthe plurality of deals matching a plurality of buyer defined buyingcriteria.

In accordance with still yet another aspect of the present invention, asystem for conducting business electronically is provided. The systemincludes a central server, at least one computer system coupled to theserver via a network, wherein a plurality of deals for a product offeredfor sale electronically is stored in the central server, each of theplurality of deals having different seller defined selling criteria, andwherein the server is configured to receive orders for the product froma plurality of different buyers via the at least one remote computersystem, by providing the plurality of buyers with at least one deal ofthe plurality of deals matching a plurality of buyers defined buyingcriteria.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the inventionthen, comprises the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrativeembodiments of the invention. These embodiments are indicative, however,of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of theinvention may be employed and the present invention is intended toinclude all such embodiments and their equivalents. Other objects,advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description of the invention when considered inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a system for electronicallyconducting business in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 a illustrates a block diagram of a central server in accordancewith one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 b is a schematic illustration of a client computer operativelycoupled to a server computer system in accordance with one aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a web page providing options to buyers and sellersdesiring to conduct business electronically in accordance with oneaspect of the present invention;

FIG. 4 a illustrates a buyer's buying criteria input screen inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 4 b illustrates a buyer's product ordering criteria input screen inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 4 c illustrates a list of seller's deals matching the buyer'sproduct ordering criteria in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart for a buyer desiring to conduct businesselectronically in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an on-line registration form for a buyer inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a buyer database stored in a central server inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 8 a illustrates a web page for a buyer to create or modify a dealin accordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 8 b illustrates a seller's buying and selling criteria input screenin accordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 8 c illustrates a seller's product ordering criteria input screenin accordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 8 d illustrates a input screen for adding buying and sellingcriteria to the deal in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart for a seller desiring to conductbusiness electronically in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 illustrates an on-line registration form for a seller inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a seller database stored in the central server inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described with respect to theaccompanying drawings in which like numbered elements represent likeparts.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a system 10 is shown in which multiplebuyers 15 and sellers 20 are electronically linked via a central server25. As discussed in more detail below, the central server 25 isconfigured to provide the buyers 15 and sellers 20 with a convenientforum in which to buy and sell goods in accordance with a multiplecriteria buying and selling methodology described herein. The forum may,for example, be a preestablished Internet web page where sellers 20 areable to post product information and the buyers 15 are able to orderproducts. The multiple criteria buying scheme preferably calls for aseller 20 to post a number of deals for a given product, which varyaccording to different offering criteria defining the limits of a numberof selling criteria, such as for example, price, volume, quality anddelivery time. Each buyer 15 is able to enter a range of criteria thatthe buyer would require for a deal to be made. A list of sellers andprospective deals offered by these sellers is generated for the buyersto review. Each buyer 15 can then review the list of deals and choose adeal based on the buyers particular needs. In this manner, each of thebuyers 15 can be certain that particular thresholds have been met andalso be guaranteed of completing a deal.

It is to be appreciated that the present invention has wideapplicability to the purchasing and/or selling of a variety of differentproducts and/or services. For example, the present invention may beapplied within the context of purchasing and/or selling airline ticketswherein buyers criteria may include, for example: (1) reputation ofairline; (2) reliability; (3) timeliness; (4) price; (5) number ofalternative flights; (6) comfort; (7) quality of service; and (8)quality of foods. The sellers' criteria may include, for =1 example: (1)volume of tickets; (2) buyer's versatility in time schedule; (3) buyer'smethod of payment, etc.

The invention may also be applied in the context of purchasing and/orselling an automobile wherein the buyers' criteria may include, forexample: (1) reputation of automobile manufacturer, (2) reputation ofdealer; (3) price of automobile; (4) delivery options; (5) automobileavailability; (6) safety; and (7) financing terms; etc. The sellers'criteria may include, for example: (1) buyer's creditworthiness; (2)desired finance terms; (3) delivery requests of buyer; (4) deliverydates; etc.

Thus, the present invention intends to allow buyers and/or sellers ofproducts and/or services to pre-select a plurality of criteria prior tonegotiating a deal for the product and/or service. Of course thepreselected criteria will vary depending on the particular productand/or service. The scope of the present invention as defined in thehereto appended claims intends to include any product and/or service(and plurality of pre-selected criteria associated therewith) suitablefor deal-making in accordance with the present invention.

Each of the buyers 15 and sellers 20 may access the central server 25 inany of a variety of ways. For example, in the present embodiment, eachbuyer 15 and seller 20 is shown to be part of separate establishments 30which include one or more respective computer systems 35 and localservers 40. The computer systems 35 may, for example, be a desktop orlaptop computer with a local area network (LAN) interface forcommunicating over a network backbone 45 to the local server 40. Thelocal servers 40, in turn, interface with the central server 25 via anetwork cable 50 or the like. It will be appreciated that while thepresent embodiment depicts the computer system 35 communicating with thecentral server 25 via hardwired network connections, in an alternativeembodiment the computer system 35 may interface with the central server25 using a modem, wireless local area and/or wide area networks, etc.Further, it will be appreciated, that while the buyers 15 and sellers 20are shown to communicate with the central server 25 via differentcomputer systems 35, it will be appreciated that the buyers 15 and/orsellers 20 may access the central server 25 from the same computersystem 25.

Turning now to FIG. 2 a, a block diagram of the hardware components ofthe central server 25 is shown. In particular, the central server 25includes a central processor 100 for performing the various functionsdescribed herein. A memory 105 is coupled to the processor 100 andstores operating code and other data associated with the operations ofthe central server 25. A user interface 110 is also coupled to theprocessor 100 and provides an interface through which the central server25 may be directly programmed or accessed. The user interface 110 may,for example, be an alphanumeric keyboard and mouse. A network interface115 coupled to the processor 100 provides multiple connections fortransceiving information with buyers 15 and sellers 20 over the networkcables 50.

As previously stated, the present invention could take advantage of thewide availability and versatility of the Internet. Referring to FIG. 2b, a schematic block diagram that depicts an environment of interest toa preferred embodiment of the present invention. The client computersystem 35 is shown connected to the central server computer system 25that is part of the Internet 60. The client computer system 35 andserver 25 are connected via an Internet connection 55 using a publicswitched phone network, for example, such as those provided by a localor regional telephone operating company. The Internet connection 55 mayalso be provided by dedicated data lines, Personal Communication Systems(“PCS”), microwave, or satellite networks, for example, or any suitablemeans. It is to be understood that the terms client and server are to beconstrued in the broadest sense, and that all such constructions of theterms are intended to fall within the scope of the hereto appendedclaims.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an exemplary Internet web page 120 which providesbuyers 15 and sellers 20 with access to a forum for conducting businessusing the multiple criteria buying methodology described in detailbelow, is shown. The web page 120 is shown to include hyperlinks forhandling both registered and un-registered buyers and sellers ofproducts. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, registered buyers may selecta hyperlink to a registered buyer login screen via hyperlink 125 whilenon-registered buyers may select a hyperlink to a non-registered buyerregistration screen via hyperlink 135. Similarly, registered sellers mayselect a hyperlink to a registered seller login screen via hyperlink130, while non-registered sellers may select a hyperlink to anon-registered seller registration screen via hyperlink 140. While thepresent embodiment illustrates separate hyperlinks for buyers andsellers, it will be appreciated that such hyperlinks could alternativelybe combined and the status of buyer or seller could be determined duringa later stage in the login procedure.

Turning now to FIG. 4 a, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention, registered buyers 15 enter several product buyingcriteria into a “Buyer's Buying Criteria” input page 150. The buyer 15selects a product or service from a list in a scroll down menu 152. Itshould be appreciated that the list on the scroll down menu 152 couldinclude any number of related or non-related goods and services onlylimited by the size of a database used in accordance with the presentinvention. Upon selecting a product or service (e.g., glass) from thescroll down menu 152, a list of seller criteria automatically appears ina window 160. The list of seller criteria appearing in the window 160 isthe minimum inputs to be provided by the buyer to obtain a deal listing.These minimum inputs are decided by the class of sellers selling theindividual product or service and/or decided by the system administratorof the system. The buyer 15 can then begin adding buyer buying criteriaby selecting the criteria from a scroll down list 154, and clicking onan “Add to List” button 156 with a computer mouse (not shown), forexample. If the buyer 15 desires to remove a buyer buying criteria, itis only necessary to highlight the criteria in the window 160 and clickon a “Remove from List” button 158. Once the list is completed, thebuyer 15 may add additional criteria thought to be important to thebuyer not in the selection of choices. These additional criteria willnot be used by the buyer in this particular deal search, but will beprovided to the sellers, so that they can be alerted of these additionalcriteria important to the buyer. The seller may opt to add to theselectable choices these additional buyer's buying criteria at a latertime. Once the complete custom buyer buying criteria list is completed,the buyer can click on the “Submit Criteria” button 162 for submissionof the buyer's buying criteria to build a “Buyer's Product OrderingCriteria” input screen 165, as illustrated in FIG. 4 b.

Turning now to FIG. 4 b, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention, registered buyers 15 enter several product orderingcriteria that would be acceptable to the buyer 15 on the “Buyer'sProduct Ordering Criteria” input screen 165. In this particular example,the buyer 15 is looking to purchase raw glass by the pound, however,many different types of products and services could be purchased/soldusing the present invention. The buyer's ordering criteria of thisexample includes: price range 166 in dollars per pound; volume range 168in number of pounds; delivery range 170 in days; the acceptable % ofdefects 172 in percent; and the minimum required warranty 174 in months.The buyer 15 can then list the names of the sellers 20 in the window 176that the buyer 15 has bought products from previously, so that the buyer15 can be entitled to any good customer or multi-purchase discountsoffered by the sellers 20. Once the buying ordering criteria is entered,the buyer can search for deals by clicking on the “Search for Deal”button 178 on the computer screen using the computer's mouse. Thepresent invention then utilizes a search engine to search through adatabase of deals offered by various sellers of the product, andprovides an output of those deals to the buyer that matches the buyer'sordering criteria by outputting a list of these deals on a “DealMatching Ordering Criteria” output page 180, as shown in FIG. 4 c.

Turning now to FIG. 4 c. in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention, registered sellers 20 set up a variety of deals 182by which registered buyers 15 are able to order products. As will bediscussed in more detail below, the deals 182 of the present embodimentare set up to display the following information which is input from theseller 20 and/or calculated by the processor 100 of the centralprocessor 25 according to the deal 182, which includes: a seller name184; a deal number 186; a volume ordering range required 188 to obtain acurrent price/pound level 190; an expected delivery time 192; a warrantyperiod 196; and a percentage of defects 198 of the product the buyer 15can expect to receive in a given order. Based on such information,buyers 15 can make an informed decision as to whether they desire tocommit to an order on a particular deal based on the criteria that isimportant to that particular buyer. If a buyer 15 desires to place anorder, the buyer 15 inputs a seller 183, a deal number 185 and a volumeorder 187. The buyer 15 then clicks on the “Submit Deal” button 189 witha mouse pointer, for example, on the computer display and the deal isfinalized.

Turning now to FIG. 5, the general steps taken by a buyer 15 enteringthe web page 150 is shown. More particularly, in step 200 it isinitially determined whether a buyer 15 is registered or not. If thebuyer 15 is not registered, the buyer 15 selects hyperlink 135 (FIG. 3)and proceeds to step 205. In step 205 the processor 100 of the centralserver 25 requests that the buyer 15 fill out a registration form. Forexample, the buyer 15 is requested to fill out a registration form 208such as that shown in FIG. 6. In the present example, the registrationform 208 requests that the buyer 15 enter the following information:buyer name; address; primary contact person; phone; fax; e-mail; shortdescription of company; preferred login user name; and preferredpassword. With respect to the user name and password, the processor 100is configured to determine whether the selected user name and passwordcombination are available and, if not, to prompt the buyer 15 to enter anew user name and password until an available combination is selected.

In step 210 (FIG. 5), the buyer is requested to fill out a credit cardapplication so that purchases made on the web site may be immediatelyapproved. The credit card registration and approval process may beaccomplished via a hyperlink to one of various electronic credit cardapproval agencies which check the buyer's credit rating and set up amerchant account with a line of credit. For example, an electroniccredit card approval agency which may be used in conjunction with thepresent invention can be found on the Internet athttp://www.interent-ecommerce.com. Next, in step 215, the processor 100determines if the credit card application has been approved by theelectronic credit card approval agency. If the credit card applicationhas not been approved, the processor 100 proceeds to step 220 where amessage is sent back to the buyer 15 indicating regret that they havenot been approved for a line of credit and therefore have notsuccessfully completed the registration process. In step 220, a customerservice telephone number also is provided to the buyer 15 in case thebuyer has questions and/or desires to pursue registration further.

If in step 215, the processor 100 is informed that the buyer 15 has beenprovided a line of credit and a credit card number has been issued, theprocessor 100 proceeds to step 225. In step 225 the buyer informationfrom the registration form 208 and the newly issued credit card numberare stored in a buyer database 270 (FIG. 7) in the memory 105 of theprocessor 25 (FIG. 2 a). Next, in step 230, the processor 100 isconfigured to provide the buyer 15 with the newly issued credit cardnumber so that the buyer 15 is able to purchase products and/orservices. Furthermore, the processor 100 is configured to provide areport to the system administrator who then mails a confirmation copy ofthe buyer's information stored in the buyer's database to the buyer 15.This completes the buyer's registration process.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, if in step 200, a buyer has alreadyregistered, the buyer 15 may login as a registered user by selecting theregistered user hyperlink 125 (FIG. 3). Once selected, the processor100, in step 240 prompts the buyer 15 to enter a user ID and password.Upon entry of such information, the processor 100 in step 240 verifiesthe user ID and password with those stored in the buyer database 270(FIG. 7). If the user ID and password entered by the buyer 15 does notmatch any entry in the buyer database 270, the processor 100 in step 240returns to step 235 for re-entry of such information. If, however, instep 240, a valid user ID and password are entered, the processor 100proceeds to step 245.

In step 245, the processor 100 provides the buyer 15 with a buyer'sbuying criteria input screen where the buyer 15 is able to enter avariety of buying criteria that is important to that particular buyer15. The buyer 15 selects a plurality of buying criteria and submits thecriteria, so that the system can build an input ordering criteria form.In step 250, the buyer 15 enters the range of ordering criteria that isacceptable to the buyer in the input ordering criteria form, and thensubmits this criteria causing the system search engine to match theordering criteria with a list of seller deals in a seller deal database.The search engine then lists the seller deals matching the buyer'sbuying and ordering criteria. As discussed above, the deals 182 providedto the buyer 15 provide the buyer 15 with information regarding the saleof a particular product such as, for example, the volume range to get aparticular price per pound, the delivery time, the warranty period andthe percentage of defects in each order that a buyer can expect. Inorder to allow a buyer to quickly find deals 182 of interest, theprocessor 100 in step 245 provides the buyer 15 with the input “Buyer'sBuying Criteria” input screen 150, so that active deals 182 of interestmay be found.

Once a search is completed, the buyer 15 in step 250 is able to select adesired deal 182 from the results obtained. For example, the buyer 15may choose a desired deal because it has a faster delivery time than theother deals. The buyer 15 may choose a deal because it has a lowpercentage of defects in the goods, or has a longer warranty than othergoods. Regardless of the deal, the buyer 15 may choose, the buyer 15 canmake an informed decision based on a variety of buying criteria. If thebuyer 15 is unsatisfied with the search results or simply desires tore-perform the search, the buyer 15 at any time is able to return backto a previous screen selecting the “back” function available using anInternet browser such as, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer,Netscape, etc. Additionally, a hyperlink to various screens, such as thesearch screen, preferably is provided on each web page.

Upon selecting a deal 182, the processor 100 in step 255 displays a pageof standard terms and conditions which the buyer 15 must agree to priorto completing the deal. The terms and conditions relate to the termsgoverning the sale of the product or service according to which both thebuyer and seller are willing to conduct business. If the terms andconditions are not accepted, the processor 100 returns the buyer 15 tostep 245, so that another deal 182 may be selected and/or another searchmay be performed. If, however, in step 260 the terms and conditions areaccepted, the processor 100 proceeds to allow the buyer 15 to completethe deal in step 265.

Turning now to FIG. 8 a, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention, registered sellers 20 enter into a “Create or ModifyDeal” screen 275. The seller 20 can choose a product or service from theproduct/service scroll down menu 276 and choose to either click on an“Open New Deal” button 278, a “Modify Existing Deal” button 280 or a“Review Buyer Inputted Criteria” button 282. If the buyer selects the“Review Buyer Inputted Criteria” button 282, the seller will be providedwith a list of buyer buying criteria that the buyers 15 manuallyinputted into the window 160 of FIG. 4 a. This allows the sellers 20 toreview criteria that is important to their buyers, which the seller werenot aware. If a seller 20 chooses to click on the “Open New Deal” button278, the seller 20 will enter into a “Seller's Product Selling Criteria”input screen 300, as illustrated in FIG. 8 b. If the seller 20 choosesto click on the “Modify Existing Deal” button 280, the seller 20 willenter into a “Seller's Product Offering Criteria” input screen 330, asillustrated in FIG. 8 c with the seller being prompted to enter a dealnumber, which causes the ordering criteria of the chosen deal number tobe editable in the input screen.

Referring to FIG. 8 b illustrating the “Seller's Selling Criteria” inputscreen 300, the seller 20 can begin building a new deal by firstselecting a number of seller additional criteria, and seller criteriafrom a list in a scroll down menu 302 and a list in scroll down menu306, respectively. The seller can click on the “Add Seller AdditionalCriteria” button 304 for adding seller additional criteria from thescroll down menu 302 into a window 310 containing a deal criteria list303. The deal criteria list 303 includes a first portion listing the“Product Agreed upon Seller Criteria” 305, decided by the group ofsellers for a particular product/service and/or the systemadministrator, a second portion which is the seller criteria list 307and a third portion which is the seller additional criteria list 309. Itshould be noted that the criteria in the seller additional criteria listis not a mandatory criteria for the buyer when the buyer is inputtingthe buyer's buying criteria in step 245 of FIG. 5, but is listed in theterms and condition step 265 after a deal is chosen by the buyer. Theseller can add seller criteria by selecting the criteria from the scrolldown bar 306 and clicking on the “Add Seller Criteria” button 308. Theseller can remove any of the criteria from the overall criteria list,except for the “Product Agreed upon Seller Criteria”, by highlightingthe selection with the computer mouse and clicking on a “Remove fromList” button 312. The seller 20 can add new selling criteria by clickingon a hyperlink 316 labeled “Add New Criteria” sending the seller 20 toan “Adding and Modifying Deal Criteria” screen 360, illustrated in FIG.8 d. The seller can modify a current criteria by highlighting thecriteria in window 310 and clicking on a hyperlink 318 labeled “ModifyExisting Criteria” sending the seller to the “Adding and Modifying DealCriteria” screen 360 with the criteria information defaulting to thehighlighted criteria for modification therefrom.

Referring now to FIG. 8 c, once the criteria is selected and submitted,the system generates the “Seller's Product Offering Criteria” inputscreen 330. A seller number 331, a product type 332 and a current dealnumber 333 are automatically generated at the top of input screen 330.The seller 20 can enter offering limits relating to the selling criteriaof the seller's product for a particular deal. The seller's offeringcriteria of this example includes: price 166 in dollars per pound;volume range 168 in the number of pounds; delivery time 170 in days; the% of defects 172 in percent; and the warranty 174 in months. The seller20 can then list the names of the buyers 15 in a window 344 that thedeal is being offered or type in the term “All” if the offer is open toany buyer. Once the seller offering criteria is entered, the seller 20can submit the deal by clicking on a “Submit/Modify Deal” button 350 onthe computer screen by using the computer's mouse. The present inventionthen creates a record of the deal in a database of deals offered byvarious sellers 20 of the product, so that deals which seller's offeringcriteria match the buyer's ordering criteria can be outputted to thebuyer 15 in a list of deals on the “Deals Matching Ordering Criteria”output page 180, as shown in FIG. 4 c.

Referring now to FIG. 8 d, the “Adding Deal Criteria” input screen 360will be described. The seller number 331, the product type 332 and thecurrent deal number 333 are automatically generated at the top of inputscreen 360. The seller 20 can enter a criteria name in the “EnterCriteria Name” box 362. The seller can then choose whether the criteriais a seller type or a seller additional criteria type from a firstscroll down menu 364. The seller 20 choose a criteria type from a secondscroll down menu 366 and the criteria units in a third scroll down menu368. The seller can submit this new criteria for the current deal byclicking on the “Submit New Criteria for Current Deal” button 370 or addthe new criteria for all the product deals by clicking on the “SubmitNew Criteria for All Product Deals” button 372. The seller 20 may at anytime review the buyer inputted criteria submitted by the buyer 15 thatis not in any of the seller's deals by clicking on the “Review BuyerInputted Criteria” button 376. The seller 20 can review this list todetermine whether or not the seller 20 would like to add this criteriato the present deal or all deals to ensure that they are in accord withbuyer needs. The seller 20 may also review the criteria that are offeredby other sellers, but not the current seller, by clicking on a “ReviewOther Seller Criteria” button 378. This will help the seller keepcurrent on what the other seller's selling criteria are being utilizedfor matching to the buyer's buying criteria to satisfy the currentmarket demands.

If the seller would like to return to the “Create or Modify Deal” screen275 the seller 20 can click on the “Cancel” button at any time.Furthermore, if the seller 20 simply desires to re-perform the search,the seller 20 at any time is able to return back to a previous screenselecting the “back” function available using an Internet browser suchas, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.Additionally, a hyperlink to various screens, such as the search screen,preferably is provided on each web page.

Proceeding now to FIG. 9, the operations of the processor 100 of thecentral server 25 in handling sellers 20 is depicted. In particular, theprocessor 100 in step 400 initially determines whether a seller 20 isregistered or not based on which hyperlink 130, 140 (FIG. 3) the seller20 selects. If the seller 20 selects hyperlink 140 indicating the selleris not registered, the processor 100 proceeds to step 405. In step 405,the processor 100 provides the seller 20 with a seller's registrationform 408 (FIG. 10) to fill out. The registration form 408 is similar tothe registration form 208 for the buyer 20 and allows the seller 20 toselect a preferred user ID and password. Once completed, the processor100 proceeds to step 410 where the seller 20 is requested to submit acredit card application so that all costs and fees associated withconducting business may be directly billed to the seller's credit card.As discussed above, the credit card approval process may occur by athird party vendor accessible via a hyperlink.

Once the credit card application is submitted by the seller 20, theprocessor 100 proceeds to step 415 where the processor 100 determines ifthe credit card application has been approved. If the credit cardapplication has not been approved, the processor 100 proceeds to step420 where the seller 20 is informed that their credit card applicationhas not been approved and the seller 20 is provided with a customerservice telephone number so that the seller 20 may optionally set up theaccount in a different fashion. If, however, in step 415 the credit cardapplication is accepted, the processor 100 proceeds to step 425 wherethe seller information is stored in a seller database 427 (FIG. 11).Finally, in step 430, the processor 100 is configured to provide theseller 20 with the newly issued credit card number so that the seller 20is able to open deals. Further, the processor 100 is configured toprovide a report to a system administrator who then mails a confirmationcopy of the seller's information stored in the seller's database to theseller 20. This completes the seller's registration process.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 9, if in step 400 a seller has alreadyregistered, the seller 20 may login as a registered user by selectingthe registered user hyperlink 130 (FIG. 3). Once selected, the processor100, in step 435 prompts the seller 20 to enter their user ID andpassword. Upon input of the user ID and password, the processor 100proceeds to step 440 where the processor 100 verifies a valid user IDand password have been entered by comparison with the information storedin the seller database 427 (FIG. 11). If the user ID and passwordentered by the seller 20 does not match any entry in the seller database427, the processor 100 in step 440 returns to step 435 for re-entry ofsuch information. If, however, in step 440, a valid user ID and passwordare entered, the processor 100 proceeds to step 445.

Upon successful entry of a user ID and password, the seller 20 isprovided with a seller option screen 275 as shown in FIG. 8 a. Forexample, the seller 20 may decide to open a new deal 182 or the seller20 may decide to view a current deal 182 for one of a number of goods orservices offered by the seller 20 or review a list of buyer inputtedcriteria. Accordingly, if in step 445, the processor 100 determines thatthe seller 20 desires to open new deal 182 for a selected product, theprocessor 100 proceeds to step 460.

In step 460, the processor 100 requests that the seller 20 enter theseller's selling criteria, so that the system can build a seller'sproduct offering criteria input screen, in step 465. For example, in thepresent embodiment the product agreed upon seller criteria is the volumerange of the order and the price per pound of the order, the seller'sselling criteria includes the delivery time and warranty with quality tobe added next, and the seller additional criteria is that the buyer paythe cost of shipping the goods. As discussed above, the processor 100utilizes the information input from the seller 20 to display a seller'sproduct ordering input form 330.

In step 465, the processor 100 request that the seller enter the limitsassociated with the seller's selling criteria chosen in step 460, andthe list of buyer's entitled to be offered the present deal. Theinformation is entered and submitted to form a deal. The processor 100uses this information to match buying and ordering criteria of the buyerwith selling and offering criteria of the seller, so that deals can becompleted in an expedited manner.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 9, if in step 445, the seller 20 has notselected to open a new deal, the processor 100 determines in step 450whether the seller 20 has decided to modify an existing deal 182. In thepresent embodiment of the invention, the seller 20 is limited to modifythose deal which they have opened. Accordingly, if the processor 100determines that the seller does desire to modify a deal 182, theprocessor 100 provides the seller 20 with a list of deals 180 which theseller has opened. Upon selection of one of the deals 182, the processor100 proceeds to step 455 where the deal 182 is displayed to the seller20. If a deal 182 is not entered in step 450, or following steps 455 and460, the processor 100 returns to step 445.

The present invention may be implemented via object oriented programmingtechniques. In this case each component of the system, could be anobject in a software routine or a component within an object. Objectoriented programming shifts the emphasis of software development awayfrom function decomposition and towards the recognition of units ofsoftware called “objects” which encapsulate both data and functions.Object Oriented Programming (OOP) objects are software entitiescomprising data structures and operations on data. Together, theseelements enable objects to model virtually any real-world entity interms of its characteristics, represented by its data elements, and itsbehavior represented by its data manipulation functions. In this way,objects can model concrete things like people and computers, and theycan model abstract concepts like numbers or geometrical concepts.

The benefit of object technology arises out of three basic principles:encapsulation, polymorphism and inheritance. Objects hide or encapsulatethe internal structure of their data and the algorithms by which theirfunctions work. Instead of exposing these implementation details,objects present interfaces that represent their abstractions cleanlywith no extraneous information. Polymorphism takes encapsulation onestep further—the idea being many shapes, one interface. A softwarecomponent can make a request of another component without knowingexactly what that component is. The component that receives the requestinterprets it and figures out according to its variables and data how toexecute the request. The third principle is inheritance, which allowsdevelopers to reuse pre-existing design and code. This capability allowsdevelopers to avoid creating software from scratch. Rather, throughinheritance, developers derive subclasses that inherit behaviors whichthe developer then customizes to meet particular needs.

In particular, an object includes, and is characterized by, a set ofdata (e.g., attributes) and a set of operations (e.g., methods), thatcan operate on the data. Generally, an object's data is ideally changedonly through the operation of the object's methods. Methods in an objectare invoked by passing a message to the object (e.g., message passing).The message specifies a method name and an argument list. When theobject receives the message, code associated with the named method isexecuted with the formal parameters of the method bound to thecorresponding values in the argument list. Methods and message passingin OOP are analogous to procedures and procedure calls inprocedure-oriented software environments.

However, while procedures operate to modify and return passedparameters, methods operate to modify the internal state of theassociated objects (by modifying the data contained therein). Thecombination of data and methods in objects is called encapsulation.Encapsulation provides for the state of an object to only be changed bywell-defined methods associated with the object. When the behavior of anobject is confined to such well-defined locations and interfaces,changes (e.g., code modifications) in the object will have minimalimpact on the other objects and elements in the system.

Each object is an instance of some class. A class includes a set of dataattributes plus a set of allowable operations (e.g., methods) on thedata attributes. As mentioned above, OOP supports inheritance—a class(called a subclass) may be derived from another class (called a baseclass, parent class, etc.), where the subclass inherits the dataattributes and methods of the base class. The subclass may specializethe base class by adding code which overrides the data and/or methods ofthe base class, or which adds new data attributes and methods. Thus,inheritance represents a mechanism by which abstractions are madeincreasingly concrete as subclasses are created for greater levels ofspecialization.

The present invention can employ abstract classes, which are designs ofsets of objects that collaborate to carry out a set of responsibilities.Frameworks are essentially groups of interconnected objects and classesthat provide a prefabricated structure for a working application. Itshould also be appreciated that the PCM and the shared memory componentscould be implemented utilizing hardware and/or software, and all suchvariations are intended to fall within the appended claims includedherein.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, Java andCORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) are employed to carryout the present invention. Java is an object-oriented, distributed,secure, architecture neutral language. Java provides for object-orienteddesign which facilitates the clean definition of interfaces and makes itpossible to provide reusable “software ICs.” Java has an extensivelibrary of routines for copying easily with TCP/IP protocols like HTTPand FTP. Java applications can open and access objects across a networkvia URLs with the same ease to which programmers are accustomed toaccessing a local file system.

Furthermore, Java utilizes “references” in place of a pointer model andso eliminates the possibility of overwriting memory and corrupting data.Instead of pointer arithmetic that is employed in many conventionalsystems, the Java “virtual machine” mediates access to Java objects(attributes and methods) in a type-safe way. In addition, it is notpossible to turn an arbitrary integer into a reference by casting (aswould be the case in C and C++ programs). In so doing, Java enables theconstruction of virus-free, tamper-free systems. The changes to thesemantics of references make it virtually impossible for applications toforge access to data structures or to access private data in objectsthat they do not have access to. As a result, most activities of virusesare precluded from corrupting a Java system.

Java affords for the support of applications on networks. Networks arecomposed of a variety of systems with a variety of CPU and operatingsystem architectures. To enable a Java application to execute anywhereon the network, a compiler generates an architecture neutral object fileformat—the compiled code is executable on many processors, given thepresence of the Java runtime system. Thus, Java is useful not only fornetworks but also for single system software distribution. In thepresent personal computer market, application writers have to produceversions of their applications that are compatible with the IBM PC andwith the Apple Macintosh. However, with Java, the same version of theapplication runs on all platforms. The Java compiler accomplishes thisby generating byte code instructions which have nothing to do with aparticular computer architecture. Rather, they are designed to be botheasy to interpret on any machine and easily translated into nativemachine code on the fly.

Being architecture neutral, the “implementation dependent” aspects ofthe system are reduced or eliminated. The Java virtual machine (VM) canexecute Java byte codes directly on any machine to which the VM has beenported. Since linking is a more incremental and lightweight process, thedevelopment process can be much more rapid and exploratory. As part ofthe byte code stream, more compile-time information is carried over andavailable at runtime.

Thus, the use of Java in the present invention provides a server to sendprograms over the network as easily as traditional servers send data.These programs can display and manipulate data on a client computer. Thepresent invention through the use of Java supports execution on multipleplatforms. That is the same programs can be run on substantially allcomputers—the same Java program can work on a Macintosh, a Windows 95machine, a Sun workstation, etc. To effect such multi-platform support,a network interface 105 and a network browser (not shown) such asNetscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer may be used in atleast one embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated,however, that a Java stand-alone application may be constructed toachieve a substantially equivalent result. Although the presentinvention is described with respect to employing Java, it will beappreciated that any suitable programming language may be employed tocarry out the present invention.

An Internet explorer (e.g., Netscape, Microsoft Internet Explorer) isheld within the memory of the client computer. The Internet Explorerenables a user to explore the Internet and view documents from theInternet. The Internet Explorer may include client programs for protocolhandlers for different Internet protocols (e.g., HTTP, FTP and Gopher)to facilitate browsing using different protocols.

It is to be appreciated that any programming methodology and/or computerarchitecture suitable for carrying out the present invention may beemployed and are intended to fall within the scope of the heretoappended claims.

The invention has been described with reference to the preferredembodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur toothers upon reading and understanding the preceding detaileddescription. It is intended that the invention be construed as includingall such modifications alterations, and equivalents thereof and islimited only by the scope of the following claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumhaving embodied thereon instructions executable by a processor to:receive product data from a merchant associated with selling a good orservice, the product data including: defined characteristics of the goodor service, and an established value of the good or service; constructan index of offers according to a category of the good or serviceassociated with the product data, wherein the index is searchableaccording to the category or the product data; and receive a searchquery including at least one of: the product data, a buyer-generatedcriterion related to a desired good or service, the buyer-generatedcriterion not provided as a part of the product data, and a qualityvalue associated with the good or service, wherein the at least one ofthe product data, the buyer-generated criterion, or the quality valuereceived as part of the search query constitute a range; and outputsearch results responsive to the search query.
 3. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the instructionsare further executable by a processor to store data associated with thebuyer-generated criterion and wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by a processor to transmit a notification that identifies thebuyer-generated criterion to the merchant.
 4. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the product data orthe buyer-generated criterion includes information related to a deliveryoption.
 5. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim1, wherein the product data includes information related to a conditionof the good or service.
 6. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 1, wherein the buyer-generated criterion is a rating. 7.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, whereinthe instructions are further executable by a processor to construct aninference that relates to at least one of: the good or service, aprovider of the good or service, an entity providing the search query,or a relationship by and between the entity, the provider, or the goodor service.
 8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 1, wherein the product data includes a feature associated with thegood or service.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable storage mediumof claim 1, wherein the index of offers is based upon receipt of theproduct data from a plurality of merchants.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the product dataare selected from a list of possible product data.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein thebuyer-generated criterion is selected from a list of possible criteria.12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1,wherein the buyer-generated criterion is a free form input of a user.13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1,wherein the product data includes a geographic location.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein theproduct data includes selectable options.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the range refers tolimits of a series.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by aprocessor to register a buyer, wherein registering includes: receivingbuyer registration information, including a physical address, an emailaddress, a password, and credit card information of the buyer, storingin memory the buyer registration information in a buyer database, andmatching at least one good or service to the buyer based on at leastsome part of the buyer registration information in the buyer database.17. A system that facilitates the sale of a good or service, the systemcomprising: a network communications interface that receives productdata from a merchant associated with selling a good or service; aprocessor; and a memory that stores the product data, the product dataincluding: defined characteristics of the good or service, and anestablished value of the good or service, the memory further storinginstructions executable by the processor to: construct an index ofoffers according to a category of the good or service associated withthe product data, wherein the index is searchable according to thecategory or the product data, and output results responsive to a searchquery, the search query including at least one of: the product data, abuyer-generated criterion related to a desired good or service, thebuyer-generated criterion not provided as a part of the productregistration data, and a quality value associated with the good orservice, wherein the at least one of the product data, buyer-generatedcriterion, or quality value is received as part of the search queryconstitute a range.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the product dataor buyer-generated criterion includes information related to a deliveryoption.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein the buyer-generatedcriterion is selectable from a set of options.